The present invention relates to exercise and therapy devices, and more particularly to exercise and therapy devices for hands and fingers. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to a hand and finger exercise and therapy glove and system.
Typical methods of exercising and rehabilitating hands and fingers include devices such as a putty material, a rubber ball, or a xe2x80x9ccoiled-springxe2x80x9d hand grip that is squeezed with the fingers and hand. Examples of such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,220 issued to Fasano in 1976, U.S. Pat. No. 4,675,914 issued to Mitchell in 1997, U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,306 issued to Mitchell in 1989, U.S. Pat. No. 3,774,242 issued to Owen in 1993, U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,360 issued to Carr in 1989, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,228 issued to Bieling in 1994.
Other glove devices include the conforming grip glove of U.S. Pat. No. 4,089,070 issued to Cherry in 1978. The conforming grip glove has a squeezable substance attached to the palm of the glove and conforming generally to the palm of the glove, but it is designed to grip an object, not to exercise the hand. In 1996, U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,244 was granted to Waller, entitled xe2x80x9cBIDIRECTIONAL EXERCISE GLOVExe2x80x9d. Waller""s design exercises the hand and the fingers through a more complete range of motion. Rods along the inside and back of the fingers/hand impose pressure from both opening and closing the hand. Disadvantageously, concentrated pressure from rods against the digits (i.e. fingers), knuckles, and hand of the patient would irritate an already painful condition, and discourage therapy.
The present invention advantageously addresses the needs above as well as other needs by providing a hand rehabilitation device that imposes pressure on the hand and fingers during both opening and closing of the hand while minimizing the stress on the joints of the hand, promoting balanced neuromuscular development; thus, leading to exercise sessions of longer duration and increasing intensity.
In one embodiment, the invention can be characterized as a hand exercise device comprising a glove for receiving a hand. The glove includes a palm portion, one or more finger portions for receiving a finger, a back portion and one or more elastic members spanning from the palm portion to respective ones of the one or more finger portions.
In another embodiment, the invention can be characterized as a hand exercise device comprising a glove for receiving a hand. The glove includes a palm portion, one or more finger portions for receiving a finger, a back portion, a compressible substance coupled to the palm portion, one or more chambers formed within the compressible substance, and a material contained within the one or more chambers. The material may be a gas, a fluid, or a gel.
In yet another embodiment, the invention can be characterized as a hand exercise device comprising a glove for receiving a hand. The glove includes a palm portion, one or more finger portions for receiving a finger, a back portion, and a compressible substance that is coupled to the palm portion. Also included in the glove are one or more elastic members that span from the compressible substance to respective ones of the one or more finger portions.
In a further embodiment, the invention can be characterized as a hand therapy system comprising a glove that includes a compressible substance coupled to a palm portion that provides resistance to the closing motion of the hand. Also the glove includes one or more elastic members that span from the compressible substance to respective ones of one or more finger portions, such that the one or more elastic members provide resistance to the opening of the hand. The glove also includes a means for providing a signal proportional to the movement of the digits of the hand while opening and closing the hand and a means for providing a signal proportional to the pressure applied by one or more of the digits of the hand on the compressible substance. The hand therapy system further includes a controller that is coupled to the means for providing a signal proportional to the movement and the means for providing a signal proportional to the pressure and also a computer coupled to the controller via a computer link.
In another further embodiment, the invention can be characterized as a method of hand therapy comprising the following steps including providing a glove that includes a compressible substance coupled to a palm portion for providing resistance to the closing motion of the hand and one or more elastic members that span from the compressible substance to respective ones of one or more finger portions, such that the one or more elastic members provide resistance to the opening of the hand. Other steps included are determining an estimate of the displacement of one or more digits of a hand during opening and closing of the hand and determining an estimate of the pressure exerted on a compressible substance by the one or more digits during the closing of the hand.
In a subsequent embodiment, the invention can be characterized as a method of making a hand exercise device comprising the steps of forming a glove including a palm portion, one or more finger portions for receiving a finger and a back portion; forming a compressible substance; coupling the compressible substance to the palm portion; forming one or more elastic members; and spanning and coupling the respective ones of the one or more elastic members from the compressible substance to respective ones of one or more finger portions.